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Daa’sten looked offended. He held out his hand.

“Let me see them.”

Swearing under her breath, Kara unlaced her battered old combat boots and handed one over. There was an immediate crush as the other Potentials goggled at her feet.

“They’re gross.”

“Five toes! What’s the extra one for?”

“Where are your claws?”

Daa’sten pushed everyone back.

“All right ladies, give us some space. Kara, let’s continue this somewhere more private. Have you been assigned your room yet?”

“No. I just got here.”

“Vysh, is she in number thirteen?”

“Yes, the first twelve are occupied. No prizes for guessing who got number one.” Vysh shot a sideways glance at Layahn. “Come on, Kara.”

Daa’sten and Vysh led her through the door on the other side of the room. It opened into a large semi-circular vestibule with doors spaced along the length of the curved wall. There were some twenty of them, all with symbols which Kara’s microbes translated into numerals. Daa’sten walked to thirteen.

“Lucky for some,” Kara muttered. Vysh shushed her.

“Honestly, Daa’sten is a miracle worker. Don’t worry. You’ll look beautiful.”

“It doesn’t matter what he does, I’m still going to look human. How’s that going to go down tomorrow?”

“Well, honestly, some people will be super mad. But they’re the ones who get mad about everything. They’ll probably hate me too because I dye my hair. But a lot of people will be happy.”

“Happy? Really?”

“Yes. Because it means the new Zhaal is serious when he says he wants to make peace with Earth. This war has dragged on so long people have forgotten how it started. And seeing you up there with us will give people a chance to see that humans aren’t the barbaric bloodthirsty monsters they’re made out to be.”

Vysh’s words jolted Kara to the core. Because wasn’t that how humans saw Vraxians? As monsters?

She was about to say as much when Daa’sten flung open the door to her new room. Her jaw dropped.

“Sweet Jesus.”

She’d never seen anything like it. The vast space looked like a rainforest. There were actual trees growing through it, though unlike any she’d seen on Earth. Their leaves were blue, for a start. But they were beautiful, covered in bright, tropical flowers.

Furniture was strategically placed among the trunks and vines with the exception of the bed. That had been made to look as though it was magically levitating over the middle of a pool.

On closer inspection, the pool was covered with a transparent barrier which could be walked on. Kara saw flashes of red and blue darting beneath her feet and realized they were fish. Or whatever passed for fish on Vraxos.

The bathroom was off to one side through an archway of leaves. The bath was designed to resemble a huge forest pond, and the shower was a cascading waterfall.

Kara was blown away by the ingenuity.

“This is… it’s…”

The lighting was soft and golden. Even the smell of the room – something very similar to jasmine and bougainvillea – gave the impression of being in the middle of an exotic paradise. “I don’t know what to say.”

Daa’sten grimaced.

“I apologize my dear. I know it’s not as nice as the others.”